If you're looking for a sure bet, Intel is as good
as it comes. As a company, Intel never seems to lose money, and when
it does the coffers are large enough to keep big blue out of the red. There's a good reason
why Intel is respected, and held in a very unique regard by the computer industry
and average user alike. Simply put, Intel has the power to drive the economy,
to set technology trends, and to change the direction of desktop computing virtually overnight.

Intel has been making microprocessors for the last
30-odd years, and that lead has allowed them to set the tone for virtually every
other IC manufacturer in the world.

The last two years has been a roller coaster ride
for the Pentium 4 processor. From
the relatively weak Williamette 1.5 GHz P4 was released, to the powerhouse Northwood P4
3.2 GHz processor, it has been quite an
adventure.

With the "Prescott" core just around the
corner, with potentially the "Pentium 5" name attached, but not quite ready
to be released, there could be no better time to release the new
Intel Pentium 4 3.2C - a 3.2GHz microprocessor.

This was
done for several reasons, but mainly to take over top pricing spot from the
3.0C which has been around since May. Keeping pressure on AMD is always
just a side benefit. The P4 3.2C, like the other 'C-class' processors, runs on a
800 MHz FSB Northword core. Architecturally it's identical to the P4 3.0C PCstats
reviewed previously, and even the lowly P4 1.6A!

The Intel 3.2GHz C Pentium 4 processor runs on an 800MHz FSB.

The Pentium 4 3.2C uses the same FC-PGA2 form
factor as previous Socket 478 processors, and while I love the IHS (Integrated
Heat Spreader) the pins on the bottom are fragile and tend to get
bent pretty easily. None the less you're going to want to be very careful when handling
the processor.

The P4 3.2C is based on the new D1
revision of the Northwood core and the default voltage has been raised to 1.55V
from 1.525V (C1 and 1.5V for the original B0).

All Pentium 4 processors running
on a 200 MHz FSB have HyperThreading enabled (including the 2.4C, 2.6C and 2.8C)
and as we discussed earlier in our The Basics of HyperThreading: What is it?
article,
HyperThreading like has potential to revolutionize the way microprocessors
function.

While I'm not going
to dwell too deep into HyperThreading in this review, it in a nut shell allows
the processor to work on two independent threads (instructions are called
threads) at the same time while utilizing the free idling execution units with
the CPU. Now, on with the benchmarks!